HomeMy WebLinkAbout180530 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8 1h Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
May 30, 2018
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg
Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor
In Mayor Vinis' absence, Councilor Clark opened the May 30, 2018, Work Session of the Eugene City
Council.
1. WORK SESSION: Clear and Objective Housing: Approval Criteria Update -Draft Project
Charter and Draft Public Involvement Plan
Land Use Planning Manager Alissa Hansen and Senior Planner Jenessa Dragovich gave an
update on Envision Eugene Implementation and the need to adopt clear and objective criteria
for land use applications.
Council Discussion
• Comfortable with the process and supportive of creating consistency and greater
understanding of what staff is trying to accomplish with clear and objective standards.
• Parcel-specific map of buildable lands requested; concern voiced about how buildable land
is determined.
• Questions asked regarding hiring an outside consultant to do an audit of existing code
language.
• Important to connect this work with the other housing work the City is doing.
• Questions asked about stakeholder listening sessions.
• Consider whether cost of development is taken into consideration when considering
buildable land inventory.
2. WORK SESSION: Housing Tools and Strategies
Community Development Director Michael Kinnison and Economic Development Planner Anne
Fifield gave a presentation about Housing Tools and Strategies as a follow-up to Council's
expressed interest in understanding more about potential impacts to the cost of new residential
construction that the Construction Excise Tax may impose and other barriers to housing
affordability.
Council Discussion
• There is urgency in getting this information back to Council in order to make important
decisions, while having the most comprehensive look possible.
• Pleased with the draft plan and anticipating that the list of stakeholders will grow and change
as it develops.
• Questions asked about DLCD grant for code audit related to housing barriers.
• Important to have a plan that is actionable to start creating affordable housing.
• Support framing the goal as decreasing the number of people who are housing burdened.
• Need better language around how to talk about "affordable housing."
• Questions asked about why the City isn 't encouraging redevelopment more and w hat reasons
there may be for lack of in ter est in redevelop ment.
• It wil l be helpfu l to see how di fferent pot en ti al h o using tools interconnect.
• l nclusionary zoning is r elated to these conversations; important to have a work session on
that top ic.
MOTION: Counci lor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to direct the City
Manage r to in itiate the process descri bed i n Attach m ent C and to b r ing back b udget
authorization for Counci l consideration.
Counc il Discussi on
• Land and money a r e the most important tools to build affordable housing and we need to
ide nti fy local fund ing sou r ces and exp lo r e partne r s hi ps w ith priva t e, for-profit deve lopers.
• I f s tu dent ho using is in cl uded in t h e hous ing deficit, co nsider whether City should encou rage
t h e unive r sity to buil d more on-campus h ousing.
VOTE: PASSED 8:0
T h e meeting adjo u rned at 1:29 p.m.
Respectfu lly submitted,
Elena Do m i ngo
Depu ty City Recorder